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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Has a self-described ‘satanic’ religious organization sought to challenge restrictions on abortion?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
YES

The Satanic Temple, a Salem, Massachusetts-based nonprofit religious organization, says it recently filed suit in federal court in Texas to seek an exemption to the state’s restrictions on abortion. The group aruges that provisions for mandatory waiting periods and viewings of sonogram results violate its members’ religious beliefs, such as that bodily autonomy is “sacrosanct.”

In 2019, the organization made a similar, unsuccessful challenge to Missouri's abortion laws.

It also recently asked the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for unrestricted access to drugs that induce abortions, citing religious grounds similar to those claimed by Native Americans for the use of peyote in religious rituals.

The Satanic Temple describes itself as a “nontheistic” group, as it does not believe in a literal Satan, but in a metaphorical Satan as “a symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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